It's the Windows 8.1 Upgrade tip you've all been waiting for: The ability to download a Windows 8.1 ISO—a file from which you can make DVD- or USB-based bootable media—using your legally acquired Windows 8 (as in 8.0) product key.

Thanks to everyone who wrote in with this tip via email, comments on this site, and Twitter. It's hard to know where the tip originated, but I want to be clear that this is not something I came up with personally, and this workaround is widely available on other sites and blogs as well.

Here goes.

As noted in Windows 8.1 Upgrade Woes, Microsoft provides a handy Upgrade Windows with only a product key page from which you can jump-start the Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 Setup from the web and optionally make an ISO file for later installs. But it inexplicably does not allow you to download the Windows 8.1 ISO—via Windows 8.1 Setup—with a Windows 8 product key. This doesn't make sense since Windows 8.1 is a free update from Windows 8. Why should someone with multiple PCs to upgrade be forced to use the normal Store-based updater, which triggers a 2 GB to 3.6 GB download each time it's used?

Well, I've got good news and bad news.

The good news—great news, really—is that there is a very simple workaround for those Windows 8 users who wish to download a Windows 8.1 ISO. That process is described here.

The bad news? Once you've downloaded that ISO, you still can't use your Windows 8 product key to perform a clean install of Windows 8.1. You can, of course, use it to perform an upgrade from Windows 8, which was the point: Provide a way for users to upgrade multiple PCs from a single download. I have an idea about how the clean install issue can be overcome, but I'm curious if anyone has a fool-proof method.

In a web browser, navigate to Microsoft's Upgrade Windows with only a product key page. Then, click the light blue Install Windows 8 button. Windows 8 Setup will run. Input your Windows 8 product key when prompted and Setup will tell you which version of the Windows 8 Setup ISO it will download. (This is based on the PC you're currently using If you start Setup from a 64-bit version of Windows, you will download a 64-bit ISO, for example.) After the download begins, close Setup.

Now, return to that Upgrade Windows with only a product key page. This time, click the light blue Install Windows 8.1 button. Windows Setup will run, as before, but you won't be prompted for your product key. Instead, the Setup ISO will download automatically!

After the download completes, Setup will say that it is "getting files ready" (uncompressing the installer) and then present you with the Install Windows 8.1 phase of the wizard.

Choose Install by creating media and then click Next.

In this next step, choose USB flash drive or ISO file. Personally, I'd choose ISO file even if you intend to install via USB since you can use the free Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool to create USB media at any time, and I like having the ISO file on hand for later use anyway.

Make your choice and click Save. If you selected the ISO option, you will need to provide a save location (your Desktop or whatever) and then Setup will copy the ISO to that location. It will then display a final step in which it displays the product key you previously provided (the Windows 8 one). Click Finish to close Setup.

OK, you've got your ISO file. Now what can you do with it?

Not much, actually, unless of course you do have a Windows 8.1 product key. You can of course create DVD or USB-based Setup media.Windows includes the ability to burn an ISO to DVD disc, or you can use the aforementioned Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool to create USB media.But what you can't do is use that Setup media to upgrade from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1. This version of Windows 8.1 Setup prompts for a Windows 8.1 product key, and your Windows 8 product key—from a PC, MSDN/TechNet, or a retail version—will not work.

Discuss this Article 91

What about this trick which I came across on the web and used to upgrade 5 of our home PCs: Run the Store app, then open your Internet explorer and copy and paste this "ms-windows-store:WindowsUpgrade" to the browser's address/search field and hit enter. Something will pop up and click download. It will take a while but eventually you'll see a message like Win 8.1 downloading in the App Store. If not successful the first time, do it again.

8.1 does not allow you to do a clean instal with a 8.0 key, but you can activate 8.1 with a 8.0 key once you are past that hurdle.
I recommend making a USB stick installer, then go to the sources folder, in there create a .txt file with notepad with the contents:

[EditionID]
Professional
[Channel]
Retail
[VL]
0

This is assuming you use the pro edition like me.
Next save that file as ei.cfg in the sources folder, this makes the installer skip the key check !
You can instal 8.1 without a key and when you are done it asks you to remove the USB stick, it reboots, and starts the OOBE.

This asks you for a key again but this time it DOES accept your 8.0 key and activates windows.
When you finally get a desktop you can check the system window, it will tell you Windows is activated.

The final problem is that this gave me a non-functional 300MB recovery partition created by the installation proces, that still did not allow me to use refresh/reset, still missing files.

The USB stick installer you create however does allow you to refresh/reset when plugged in, but this does not restore your recovery partition, but you can use the feature.

I also really wanted to have a usable recovery partition on my harddrive, turns out making one is really simple.

To do this create some unpartitioned space, I used 3200MB.
In this space create a 3200MB NTFS partition, and volume, I named it 8.1 recovery but any name will do, and do a quick format.

Next copy the contents of the ISO or the contents of your USB installer into that partition, it should leave about 87 MB free space.
You can remove the drive letter if you like, so you can`t accidentally modify the files easily.

Remove your USB stick or unmount the ISO and you fill find that the refresh/reset features now work :)

Robin thank you for the info to bypass the initial asking for the serial at beginning of install. My problem is i tried it and didn't work. Is there something else I need to do. I am fairly new at this, so i appreciate the patience.

there is a dummy key that can be used to get the installer to run from this ISO, then after it installs/upgrades your windows install you can change your CD key to your legitimate Windows 8 key using the change product key link in the System properties window.(I won't post any dummy keys in your comment section though)

I can vouch for this as I did it successfully on my desktop PC. I actually did it with the ISO, which I burned to a disc.
You just need some sort of ISO editing software (such as PowerISO or Daemon Tools) or the freely available Windows Deployment Kit (although that's a bit more involved)

Hi, does this mean that I can perform a clean windows 8.1 install using this method?... and just to confirm for everyone, this method will skip the productkey being asked during installation and will ask it after installation? please confirm bro... because I only have my windows 8 pro product key... and I wish to perform a clean 8.1 install... thanks.

Agreed! The best method would be to download a x64, x32 or RT ISO that then allows any respective 8.0 keys to work with it as an in place upgrade Windows 8.1 or to boot to a USB and disk.

If you want to download an ISO can be activated by any valid 8.0 product key from the WindowsSetupBox executable you will still get "This product key didn't work. Please check it and try again".

I am guessing that if you do this from a PC that already has Windows 8.1 on it, this is why it does not work?

My personal cable connection here in Australia is pretty good (20-30Mbps) but there are some clients that have slow ADSL (2Mbps to 7Mbps) connections that will take hours to download.

Our government is looking to make available to all Aussie households a fibre optic broadband network with speeds between 30Mbps and 100Mbps. However, recently there was a change of federal government and it seems we will only get fibre to node (meaning fibre to a nearby box and copper wire from that box to our homes as opposed to fibre directly to our homes or businesses).

As posted elsewhere on this site, having multiple PC's is still inconvenient in terms of being unable to use a single 8.1 distribution for multiple PCs.

I mean we are talking about valid legal 8.0 product keys here and having a key for each x64, x32 or RT computer, downloadable from any 8.1 or 8.0 pc still seems a better option. I still believe that MS is being obtuse and that is a shame...a real shame!

Oh a one other thing. What happens if you upgraded a windows 7 PC and then that purchased retail copy of Win8 has a key that you would like to use but the Win7 PC is long gone because of rental or hardware failure. What is the answer to that MS hmm, I wonder! Clearly MS has not thought about this either and the sad thing is they had a year to get it right...

Removed 8.1 preview because I didn't see the update in the store and went back to Windows 8 Pro, I still didn't see it. I tried to install with just a product key then go the "product key didn't work" I used the key I used to install 8, plus I used a key off a Windows 8 pre-installed laptop. I don't honestly think they though this idea of not everyone being able to upgrade through properly. We need ISOs or at least a way to use one PC as an upgrade server.

Confirmed that the method below posted on numerous sites does work. Also discovered my legit retail key works with the TechNet and MSDN ISO as well. I installed using a MSDN key, and then went into properties and selected change key. Input my retail key and BAM, key changed, accepted and activated.

"When you use the Windows 8.1 ISO created by the Setup process above, you will need to enter a generic placeholder Windows 8.1 product key to get it to install. (Can be found on Various sites) Once Windows is installed, you will need to change the key to your key. To do that, Right-Click the Start button and start the Command Prompt (Admin).
Type the following commands:
slmgr /ipk YOUR-KEY-WITH-DASHES-HERE
slmgr /rearm
reboot you computer and it should be activated.

Hey, if you could help me out that would be great. I downloaded 8.1 and I cant use my product key. can you please link me a site that shows a generic key so That I can activate windows. Im pretty desperate at this point, so if you could help me out I would be very grateful. Thank you for reading.

I can confirm that the Command Prompt command [ slmgr -ipk XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX (replace X's with your Windows 8 Product Key) ] works. I used that about a month ago to change my Product Key after doing a clean install of Windows 8.1 from the official TechNet ISO using a generic install key.

The jmedved.com page mentions this TechNet link with good info on the ei.cfg files: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd744535.aspx. That web page also mentions: If you omit EditionID from ei.cfg, you will get an option to select the Windows 8 edition that you would like to install (Professional or Core).

Therefore, if you want to make a more versatile installation process, whether putting the files on a USB drive or simply editing an ISO file that you are going to burn to disc, you could simply create an "ef.cfg" plain text file with the following:

Use the generic Windows 8.1 key (can be found on the web) for your edition to install Windows, and install your product key using the Software Licensing Manager afterwards (the famous "slmgr.vbs /ipk" command).

I didn't check it, but from what I heard is that the ei.cfg solution is not working for Windows 8.1 anymore.

And if you really want the ISO, there are ways to discover and download it... if you know what I mean.

You can actually use this to upgrade, you just need the generic core/Pro key to install, you can activate using your windows 8 key once the installation has completed, or you can edit EI.CFG to skip the product key step during the installation and activate later.

Thanks for feeling my pain LOL! This is why MS needs a broader strategy for getting Win8 especially the need for a ISO.

I sometimes thing that MS is all about North America in terms of support and products on the one hand and then the rest of the world on the other...frequently sucks if you are in the rest of the world!

For example the lock screen on my Nokia Lumia 920 mobile phone and Windows PCs has the American date format of month/day/year but Aussies use day/month/year format and 12 months ago I set up a case for them to fix it. Now there is Win 8.1 and it is still not fixed!

Someone listed this tip the day the update was released, but it didn't work for me. I used my Windows 8 key and the one off an OEM copy that got it in the store. I guess mine must be a volume key, so maybe that's why. I ended up installing the 8.1 Enterprise trial until I have a better solution. This selective upgrade was really a bad idea. Only people with preview should have had this issue. It should have worked the way it always worked, and if you didn't have Windows 8 previously, it just shouldn't have activated.

Hi Paul,
Can you please help me out in one issue.
I have upgraded my win 8 to 8.1.
Now I want to reset my windows to have clean install of windows 8.1. But while going through process of resetting, windows is asking to insert installation media to proceed.
As I have upgraded from windows store, I don't have windows 8.1 media. If I use windows 8.0 disk, then will it reset with 8.1 or 8.0 ?
Please suggest.

Using the procedures described earlier to create a bootable thumbdrive with the ei.cfg modifications to avoid the key requirement during the install, I was able to run the update on a couple of Windows 8 laptops.

However, when it came time to enter the original Windows 8 key in order to reactivate Windows, it would not work with the laptop that had been purchased with Windows 8 preinstalled (OEM version). The slmgr /ipk procedure resulted in the following message: Error: 0XC004F069 On a computer running Microsoft Windows non-core edition, run slui.exe 0x2a 0xc004f069 to display the error text.

When I ran the slui.exe command as indicated by the first error message, I got the following Code: 0xC004F069
The Software Licensing Service reported that the product SKU is not found.

My other laptop worked fine, but that was with a Windows 8 key that was originally purchased to upgrade the computer from Windows 7 to Windows 8.

So, the big question now is can this iso image be used to update a laptop that had Windows 8 already installed when using it's own OEM license key? I had saved off this original license key using Belarc Advisor. And that is the key I tried to then provide at the end of the setup process, but which failed.

What could be the problem is that the ''Core'' version is divided into several SKUs. If your PC was installed with CoreSingleLanguage or CoreCountrySpecific, they key will not work when you install the normal ''core'' version.

jbisko: I believe the workaround won't work with a Windows 8 OEM licence (preinstalled major computer manufacturer, not the system builder version) since they use a different licensing method. Such PCs are activated via a key held in their BIOS, not a typed in key. Thus, install from 8.1 media won't work (the key you've got from Belarc Advisor isn't the 'real' key).

Beware! Windows 8.1 has problems with some wireless and wired network adapters. The symptom is that network connectivity suddenly disappears. Re-enabling the network on the Network Connections window will not work. You have to reboot the computer to get things going again. There is much discussion of this problem on the Microsoft Community forum and on Windows Eight Forums.http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/networking?tab=QnA

I guess I'll have to try this when I get back on the system with Windows 8 Pro installed. I tried to do it on my Windows 7 system and it said "this key cannot be used with a retail version of Windows 8.1"

Aside from this procedure for making an ISO which has its own set of issues, is there a way to capture the 3.6 GB download that occurs when updating via the Windows Store and then copy that download package to a flash drive to be used on another computer without having to download the same thing from the Windows store again?

Oh man PaUL they really screwed the pooch on this one, I installed Windows 8.1 from my Dreamspark ISO and now I tried to change my key back to my Windows 8 Pro with Media Center Key but it wont let me and now that I installed Media Center in Windows 8.1, none of my keys work. How can I get back to safety without losing any installed programs, I cant lose my desktop Adobe Master Collection.

You're forgetting that when they fully revealed the Xbox One at E3, they basically told a bunch of people to piss off. They said "If you don't have an always on internet connection, we have a product for you. It's called Xbox 360"